Darling in the Franxx Episode 24 (Final) Review: Never Let Me Go

Episode 24 of Darling in the Franxx aired its final episode on 7 July 2018. It was a sad but also really cute episode with romance, and a little bit of comedy.

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Episode 24 – Never Let Me Go

Days, months, and even years have passed since Zero Two and Hiro went through the gate to destroy the VIRM species and to win the war. Meanwhile, Squad 13 is slowly progressing in making Earth livable again with the help of all parasites that survived, including Naomi and the other lost-believed children. Kokoro gives birth to their child Ai and Goro leaves the group to see the world and find survivors and useable resources. Hiro’s horns grew with time and together eventually reach the VIRMs’ base. As soon as they arrive, Zero Two and Hiro’s connection gets blocked and they are about to lose this fight. However, with the help of Ai, parasites gather to pray talk into the sky and reach Hiro, who is then able to find his way back to Zero Two. They end the war by sacrificing themselves to save their friends.

The number of children being born grows and with them the number of humans on Earth. Some of Squad 13 members have children and years later, Zero Two and Hiro’s souls find their way back to Earth to get reincarnated as children and meet again.

My Thoughts

As VIRMs can’t be terminated, Hiro and Zero Two’s sacrifices may have been to no purpose. They might have stopped their enemies from coming back for now, but nobody knows if they won’t be back sooner or later to take over Earth again. This last episode felt like jumping into a time machine. We first were sent into the time 70 days after Hiro and Zero Two entered the gate. We see Nana (new) getting along with ex-parasites and being unusually nice to everyone and Hachi having a big scar on his face due to the explosion in the previous episode. Thanks to him and Goro, they got Mistilteinn back and started growing vegetables with success. Everyone is so nice to Kokoro, because she is pregnant and teaches the girls how to sew. In the meanwhile, Hiro’s horns got longer and even his eyes resembled Zero Two a lot.

Then we leave the time machine at 245 days later. Kokoro already gave birth to their precious little girl, which they named Ai as in Japanese for ‘love, a language they have never been taught about. Naomi and the other children found their way back and are now living with the other children. Goro leaves to see the world and kisses Ichigo goodbye. They seem to have steadily developed a nice relationship, but Ichigo’s face turned red like she was embarrassed. You could see that there was something going on between them because she answered ‘yes’ when Ikuno asked her if she would miss him. – Goro’s new voice! It fits so well. Before he was the little boy, nice, but young and not taking what he liked or wanted. So after getting a second voice actor, it feels that he even got a different personality, a strong and predominant one.

We go further, a total of 783 days (2 years) have passed. Strelizia Apath looks pretty dirty. They both seem to be tired but still give their best to move forward. This was the time when Hiro and Zero Two finally reached the VIRMs’ base where Zero Two had to fight them alone due to Hiro not responding. How were the VIRMs able to disconnect their connection? More importantly, how could Ai, an about two-year-old girl sense what was going on? How could she know the word ‘Darling’ without even being born before Zero Two and Hiro left? Did she feel it through Zero Two’s petrified body?

After finding a connection again, they bomb the VIRMs’ base, say ‘I love you’ and kiss. Strelizia Apath transformed into a golden ghost-like form and strikes into the big tree on Earth like a lighting, but without damaging the tree. Zero Two’s statue breaks apart and the Klaxosaurs return to earth and become one with it.

Last but not least, we see how Earth looks like after 3105 days (8 years). No magma recourses are being used. Instead, they build wind turbines and draw the last missing page of Zero Two’s picture book. At first, I had the feeling that they didn’t really age, except Ikuno who already looked like a grandmother with her gray hair. However, after watching more scenes with our Squad 13, I came to recognize their aged selves. Miku looks really nice with her long hair with gray strands. Ichigo changed a lot, as she was also pregnant with Goro’s child. Futoshi already had two children and his third was on its way! He resembles my typical uncle figure with his beard…

My What-Is-Going-On? Moments

Little Zero Two and Hiro

I just love the idea of Zero Two and Hiro reincarnating as little children on Earth and that they were able to find each other again. The way they met just surpassed my imagination. Hiro has been sitting under the giant tree when Zero Two comes running and trips over the tree’s roots. Her mother even called her to take care and in exactly that moment she trips. How fun was that!

In the End

With this episode, Darling in the Franxx concluded with a happy end. It followed a different way, than I thought it would do. I never imagined them dying in space. The reincarnation idea is cute, though. Is this really the end of this anime? What about the VIRM, could the couple destroy them for good?

I would love to see an OVA with the reincarnated Zero Two, Hiro and the other children of Squad 13. How did you like the way Darling in the Franxx ended? Is there anything you would have done differently, or did you completely agree with the makers?